My Aniki Is a Joker
by Sanity'sRival
Summary: Hisoka: The greatest weapon he was using against her was her own mind; prying on the doubts and uncertainties that already lurked there, which wouldn't let her be true to herself or live up to her goals. He was making her run on this exhausting, unsustainable hamster wheel, the more she moved her little paws the faster it would get and the less she thought about things. KilluaXOC
1. Hisoka's sister?

Hyana still didn't fully understand the admiration she held for her elder brother Hisoka. His lies, his cheats, his fights, his kills; there was never a decent reason behind any of it. She was fond of it all as well, but it was how overkill he went. She didn't understand that pleasure he found with difficult fights. She just as him loved the feeling of risk, but she would never fully understand his motive.

What she really hated was how he managed to sound so insane, while making both sain and insane notions.

But her brother was never a nice person, or sain one at that. She would always remember when he used to train her and he would say 'To get the most enjoyment out of life, kill everyone you don't like while looking for worthy fights'. Honestly that was one of the worst quotes she had ever heard. Now it's not like she was little miss innocent, but she was just nicer than him. She had killed, lied and cheated before. She had killed for survival, order and as much as she hated to say It, enjoyment.

She had killed for enjoyment many times before, and she claimed that it wasn't a side of her she liked, but it was still her. After watching her brother kill a few people she would just love killing someone brutally every now and then. It was her way of controlling anger...she guessed. She could control her anger for sure, but every now and then, who didn't kill someone just to watch them in pain to feel better about themselves?

Well, not many, but she did.

Hyana did like killing sometimes and that was something she would confess to. However, she did not like how her brother had taught her. She assumed he thought she was his little toy that he could teach in any way he wanted without worry. She would have been his little puppet.

She watched as the man screamed in pure agony. She had to say she was slightly impressed by the perfect cut her brother had made. The stubs were even on both sides and there was barely any blood. She walked around to the side of the man so she could get a better view of the wounds and bent down beside him to examine them. Her katana made a small clinking sound when it hit the ground and she came close to poking the stub, but decided against it when she got back to her feet.

"Clean cut," she said smiling at Hisoka, and he nodded at her with a smirk before finishing his business.

"You should say 'excuse me' next time you bump into someone. Come on Hyana." He waved her over and she instantly ran to his side, sticking her tongue out at the armless man whimpering on the floor.

She continued looking around at all the scared staring faces. She hissed or growled at each and everyone one of them that passed her, to see if they were scared of her…they were. The fact that people could tell we were related made her scary.

There was a very big difference in their looks, really the only thing they had in common was the blue hair, which made everyone make an automatic assumption. Hyana however had plain boring stormy grey eyes rather than her brother's blue and their facial features were nothing alike.

She continued to hang around beside Hisoka who was now looking around the room, most likely looking for some new 'unripe fruit'. She looked around along with him estimating that there were probably about 400 people. _You can practically cut threw the air with a knife the tension is so thick...or should I say testosterone_? She thought to herself noticing there were very few girls.

With a quick step Hyana took off without Hisoka, planning on scouting out some kids. She left without a word to Hisoka knowing he wouldn't care anyway.

"Remember to come play examiner with me later," he said once she was a few meters away. She didn't answer, nor did she want to. She ignored him and continued walking. She didn't come here to help her brother have some fun killing while scouting out 'unripe fruit'. She was scouting something different. She only hoped they didn't scout out the same people. Hyana planned on scouting for friends, she had several friends however she had two choises. Try to make everyone scared of her or try to make people like her. She liked the latter.

She continued to walk around the room when she saw another kid her age. He had white hair and a skateboard under his left foot. If her guess was right he should have been twelve, plus he's just like Hisoka. _Maybe we can be friend later_ she thought to herself. She could tell because he gave off a feeling just like her and Hisoka. The feeling that she had grew up around and felt comfortable with. To most, he certainly just looked like a cute young boy, but she could tell he was hiding something behind that face just as she did. Something cold and murderous.

She stared at him and he looked up at just the right time to catch it. She turned her head slowly, ready to start her search once more _well if there's one other kid here there should be more_

Her search was disrupted when she heard a loud clanging noise. Everyone became silent and looked to where the noise was coming from and there stood a fairly tall man wearing a suit. He had a curly moustache and no mouth. Everyone took a close look at the smooth area under his moustache. Hyana tilted her head and looked at him oddly.

"No mouth?" she wondered out loud.

"The time for reception is over. The exam may now begin, please follow me." The man turned away from the crowd and began walking as the crowd followed him. Hyana began to walk as well, slowly speeding up until she was in the middle of the pack. "Please remember that this exam is extremely difficult. You may be injured or you might even be risking your lives. If you okay with this continue following me." Everyone seemed to notice his pace speeding up and the crowd along with him. After a few minutes he spoke again, "My name is Satotsu, I am the examiner for the first phase. I will be leading you to the second phase." Satotsu was now flat out running along with the crowd.

Hyana took a look around her and she smiled when she caught sight of a young boy with black hair not far behind her. She took a second to examine him. He wore an all green outfit, with a green long sleeve and a pair of green shorts reaching about mid thigh. He also wore green boots and a small backpack. Hyana caught sight of a pole sticking out from his back. She slowed down and waited for the boy to catch up with her. He caught sight of her and picked up his pace, stopping beside her.

"My name's Gon, what's yours?" he asked the girl with a large smile planted on his face. Hyana watched him and couldn't help but feel happy running next to him. It felt like happiness was squirting out of him and pouring into his surroundings...she liked it. She put on a small smile of her own and couldn't help but think of how different he was to the boy before.

"Nice to meet you Gon, my names Hyana," the girl greeted.

"Hey, how old are you Hyana?" Gon asked, the girl turned to him and looked him up and down before answering.

"I'm twelve, what about you?" she asked. Gon's smile brightened at the fact and Hyana couldn't help but absorb some of the boys positive energy.

"Me too!" he exclaimed, returning his attention back to the front.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Both she and Gon turned around to see an old man in a suit yelling at the white haired boy. He had a pair of glasses resting on the bridge of his nose and a briefcase. _He doesen't look like the type to be here _Hyana noted turning back to the front.

"How?" The white haired boy asked, raising an eyebrow at the man.

"Leorio, it's not cheating because the examiner just told us to follow him, not that we had to run!" Leorio groaned, and then looked up at Hyana, pointing a finger at her.

"Cheating is anything that is against the rules. I could jump on the examiners back and he could carry me and it wouldn't be against the rules," she stated eyeing the man behind her, causing him to jump to a false realization.

"Hey Gon, you really should not trust her! She's Hisoka's sister! She might be trying to kill you" he nearly yelled, and Hyana raised her eyebrows at the man.

"Hn," she said simply.

"What kind of reaction was that?" Leorio yelled. He watched her He watched her questioningly, while Hyana just stayed silent for a minute.

"Trust me old man, if I wanted to kill you guys you would all be dead before you ever lay eyes on me. You're only screwing yourselves by trusting Tompa." She paused and looked back at him."But look, if you keep making unrealistic assumptions and convincing others I am not to be trusted, I might have to kill you. I'm not some evil villain..." She trailed off returning her attention to running.

"What are your names?" the white haired boy asked the two kids.

"My names Gon, she is Hyana. What's your name?"

"I'm Killua, how old are you? Killua asked.

"We're both twelve," Hyana answered taking her turn to answer for the both of them.

...

As the journey dragged on, the group of them stopped. Leorio was on the ground gasping for air as if it was now non-existent. Hyana just scowled at the annoyance and crossed her arms over her chest with a sigh.

"Hn," Hyana grunted.

"What are you doing? He's done," Killua said looking down at him. Hyana found a spot beside him and looked down at him as well.

"Aren't... any... of...you...tired?" Leorio said between breaths.

Everybody shook their heads except for Hyana who just stood still. Everyone looked to Tompa when he started to sniff the air.

"Hey, I recognize that smell. It's the sap of the healing cedar tree. I can take him there and he can heal up while regaining energy," Tompa said to the group. Hyana simply snorted and everyone turned to her.

"You're lying. I don't know what that smell really is, but you can't lie to a liar," she said to Tompa sending him a death glare while smiling playfully making him shift under the pressure of her gaze. She then turned to the rest of the group, "I know you don't trust me, but it seems like Leorio is not the type to be persuaded by reason and that's bad... really bad. However, it's not my fault if you trusting idiots fall into a trap and die. Honestly, I wanted to be your friends, but..." she said, trailing off looking down at her feet disappointedly.

Even when she warned them she knew they would most likely believe Tompa. Tompa was a terrible liar. Hyana was surprised that they fell for it. So if they couldn't tell he was lying, she considered them screwed. Of course cheating and lying were right up her ally. She had no guilty conscience. To her If you wanted to lie? Lie. Wanted to win? Cheat. Don't sugar coat it. It was the way of Meteor City, it was her way.

There was some sick beauty behind it, a sick beauty that some hated while others loved. In fact almost everything she did that other people would consider cheating, never actually contradicted the rules. Therefore it was not cheating.

All games had rules, but all games also had exceptions and loopholes. As long as Hyana used those, she wasn't technically cheating.

To her it was a skill that came with practise. Lying, cheating, finding loopholes they came together. It was a life style the people of Meteor City had adapted to. The better you were at it, the longer you lived. In Hyana's case she also enjoyed it.


	2. Liar

**Boom**

There was that noise again, it was the second time Hyana had heard it since she left the boys to figure everything out on their own. She may not have said so, but she was actually getting a little tired and very worried for that matter.

She had thought of going back, but she knew she couldn't help them. She didn't have skills that would be useful to others if they were in a trap. The odds were strong that she would have no idea how to help and she knew that. So even if she was to go back she would be throwing her life away and that was not something she would do. Ever.

She may not have known them long and it was obvious it was obvious that Leorio didn't trust her very much Kuropika however was a little more understanding, though it was obvious he was wary of her. Then there was Gon and Killua, who were the two she had already thought of as friends. Gon was just an easy friend to make. She managed to befriend him in ten minutes. Killua was…in a way, like her and Hisoka, and she knew that she reeked of she reeked of death, and it was comforting.

the presence of another killer was comforting. It was a feeling she was used to, it came from her and everyone she ever loved.

She knew that Killua had caught onto Tompa's plan. She also knew that he knew what the tree really was.

_**Boom**_****

This time the explosion was right beside her. She looked to the now smoking wall as the four figures flew through the smoke spreading all over the place. She smiled at the sight of them '_thank god they're__alright_' she thought to herself. She walked over to Gon, who had landed the closest to her and helped him up.

"What are you doing?" Satotsu asked Gon, who was scratching his head with a huge smile.

"Sorry we had to blow up the walls," he said sheepishly, pulling his hand from the back of his neck and down to his side. '_Why is he saying sorry? It wasn't against the rules' _Hyana smiled to herself.

"I never said you couldn't," Satotsu said Satotsu said amicably, turning around and resuming his running. Hyana looked to Gon and raised her eyebrows, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Told you so," she said sticking her tongue out at the four boys. "I may be _his _sister, but that doesn't make me him."

"I know we should have trusted you," Gon said smiling cheerfully and she sent a small smirk back before turning to run along with everyone else.

"Gon, why do you want to become a hunter?" Hyana asked the young boy who was running between her and Killua.

"My Dad's a hunter, so I want to become one as well. I want to know what it's like," he answered. He smiled slightly and Hyana instantly knew from the kind smile that he really must love his dad.

"I hear there are different types of hunters, what kind is he?" she questioned further.

"Not sure," he said simply. Both Killua and Hyana looked surprised at his answer. Killua turned to him and Hyana did too, their eyebrows raised.

"Do you know your dad?" Killua finally asked the question that was on both kids' minds. Gon shook his head.

"No I only know him through a picture," he answered.

"That sucks," Hyana muttered to herself.

...  
What followed Satotsu's little warning speech was something Hyana found to be extremely appropriate, not to mention ironic. A monkey beast scrambled around the side of the cliff, carefully disguised as a human. It claimed to be the real examiner, and that Satotsu (whose face looked remarkably similar to the monkey beast's) was the imposter.

Which, of course, was not true. Hyana knew from the very moment the beast showed up. After all, what kind of idiot would believe a lie like that? Just because the examiner didn't have a mouth (something that sincerely and utterly baffled Hyana), had a funny curly moustache (which defied gravity and therefore ALSO bothered Hyana), and looked a little (okay, a LOT) like a monkey, didn't mean he was a monkey! Besides, no real examiner would have been dumb enough to get tricked by a monkey beast, and therefore, it was impossible for Satotsu to be an imposter to begin with.

And it should have ended right there with that easy-to-figure out, logical explanation, but… it didn't. Because not everyone seemed to possess Hyana's unfailing ability to pick out all signs of deception with ease. Though she supposed that was a given, (for it really was much easier to see through other's lies if you were a liar yourself) since it provided you with much-needed insight on a professional liar's mind and thought process.

Because she's a professional liar. See, she lies for a living, literally. And she loves tricks to deceive people with. Oh, but she didn't lie to those people she had now crowned with the title 'Hyana's Friends' and that surprised her. She was surprised she didn't find any need to lie to or deceive the people here...yet, anyway.

She happened to know that only two other people had that ability. Killua and Hisoka. That of course made her feel pretty good about the situation. Even if Leorio hated her and distrusted her with a passion. Killua was her friend, Hisoka was no threat to her and she knew that.

Since it seemed the majority of the group was simply not lucky enough to have inherited Hyana's Lie-Detecting Survival Skill, the situation was beginning to get out of hand. Group-psychology led the group to panic, confusing themselves and losing whatever calm they had before. Arguments stormed up over whether Satotsu or the monkey was the real imposter, and it quickly got to the point where it seemed a mob riot would break out. Rational thoughts went flying out the window the moment emotions entered the argument, and therefore, Hyana could no longer view any of the candidates as anything other than 'Idiot 1', 'Idiot 2', and 'Idiot more', for being caught up in the beast's trap so easily.

_And thus concludes today's 'Who's the Stupidest' show. What did we learn today?_ Hyana asked herself as she watched the scene play out with dull, half-lidded eyes and an amused eyebrow lifted._Adults really are stupid._

Thankfully, the chaos was resolved. But, not the way one would have expected. The dangerous, cotton-candy, blue-haired man costumed as a jester of Hyana's older brother decided to make some wacko show out of everything by tossing his crazily sharp cards at both Satotsu and the monkey beast imposter to see which one would catch them.

The one who failed to avoid them was the imposter. The now dead imposter.

Hyana resisted the urge to sigh and roll her eyes. _Duh._

"Now, shall we go ahead?" Satotsu asked, gliding around the side of the cliff. "To the Second Exam Center."

And, once again, the marathon began, only this time, it was different. It was harder.

It was better. She was happy that stupid running test was over, though she does confess it was tiring. What she really wanted was something to keep the adrenaline pumping. Therefore crazy monsters and beasts trying to eat you and kill you -while running in fog and mud- was a considerable upgrade.

Hyana kept beside Gon and Killua knowing that there was nobody else to run with. Leorio and Kurapika were at the back and even if she liked Kurapika there was no way she would run with Leorio, while Hisoka was most likely killing people. She let out a sigh and turned to Killua who was beside her.

"We should get to the front," Killua said without turning his head away from the foggy path ahead.

"You're right, we need to keep an eye on the examiner," Gon added, but Hyana shook Her head and turned to him.

"No, that's not what he means. He is talking about my brother." She corrected darkly, her stormy eyes narrowing minutely.

"He is a killer, he is going to take advantage of the fog and we need to stay away from the back." Killua finished. Gon nodded now, now understanding the dangerous situation and turned around to look for Leorio and Kurapika.

"Leorio, Kurapika! Killua says we should get to the front," Gon yelled out. Hyana slapped her forehead, smiling at Gon's easy going nature.

"Idiot, we can't! We would if we could," Leorio yelled back. Hyana looked to Gon, noticing he had a look of worry on his face. She wanted to say something, but she wasn't sure whether Hisoka would kill Leorio and Kurapika.

"Gon!" Killua yelled, making Gon turn his attention back to the other two kids. "Don't do anything stupid. Now is not the time to be worrying about them. We have to keep going and hope that you don't hear your friends' screams!" Killua said, but Gon waved him off and started to go back against the crowd.

"Look, I happen to know that Gon will not be hurt by Hisoka," Hyana whispered to Killua as they started to run again. "Well, probably." She added quietly, wanting to ensure KIllua of Gon's safety.

"And why is that?" he asked.

"Because Hisoka will play with him and see whether he has potential. I know that Gon has a _hella_ lot more than me, so Hisoka won't kill him. Given that Gon lives up to his expectations," Hyana explained. Killua nodded in understanding.

"Hnnn? So he's that kind of guy…a total weirdo," Killua scoffed, but turned away from her again. She looked around in the fog and let out a loud yawn.

"Well, this is extremely boring," Hyana whispered. She looked at Killua, who was not paying much attention to her and smirked. '_I'm just going to have to make it fun'._She slowly swerved to the side into the bushes where nobody could see her. She ran beside the group hidden in the bushes and balled up some mud in her hands, grimacing at the smell. She pulled her arm back and flung it at the cocky, bald, ninja. It hit him in the side of the head, but it didn't slide down, it stuck there, looking like a gross half melted ice-cream on the baldy's head, making Hyana choke in laughter. Hanzo jumped up, looking around frantically while shaking the mud off.

What the hell was that?!" he yelled angrily, attracting odd looks from everyone around him.

"Thus proves my point that Hanzo is the worst ninja eevvvveeerrrr~" she said in a sing song voice. She thought about it for a second. thought about it for a second, and then nodded to herself. This place was extremely boring. Mud throwing was fun four years ago and back then she thought it was a blast. Now it was just another way to pass time. She let out a disappointed sigh.

"That was pointless," she commented. "Damn, Hyana. You have lost your touch. Is there nothing else you can come up with."

She looked into the crowd and saw that nothing fascinating was happening. '_Won't hurt if I explore a little'_she thought to herself as she ran off further from the group. She passed by a few ugly creatures that simply dismissed her as too bony for food and some super ugly plants. Once again she was bored. She started to run back to where the group should be.  
…

She realised something was wrong when suddenly she picked up too much speed and tripped over, landing face first in a mud puddle. Shaking the mud off with a disgusted sigh, she looked around, realising something she probably should have realised 10 minutes ago.

"Shit, I'm lost." she groaned. Knowing herself too well, Hyana knew that she had the worst sense of direction possible.

And so the twelve-year old began her gross, mud-filled trek across the wetlands of the swamp. It was long, it was gruelling, it was frustrating, and it was most certainly nerve-grating, but…

Surprisingly, she got through it.

When the clock's hand hovered five minutes before twelve, a mud-covered Hyana finally burst out of the trees into the clearing where the second exam centre took place.

Hyana stumbled forward, before bending over with her hands on her knees sweat dripping down her face as she struggled to catch her breath. "Finally," she groaned through pants. "I made it."

After she had finally managed to stumble her way out of the swampy part, moving had been much easier. Hyana decided that she had no clue which way to go, so she did what all people would, book it and hope it would bring you where you wanted to go. She had literally been running as fast as her legs could carry her, and, mind you, that was quite fast for a stealthy girl like her that was used to making quick escapes from angry shop owners. The run had only lasted about half an hour, but sprinting that hard for such a long distance was something that used a lot of energy. Needless to say, Hyana was quite out of breath, and exhausted. Her legs felt like jelly—or at least, she assumed they did. What the hell did jelly even feel like? Hyana didn't even know—no matter how much she'd dreamed of it, she'd never been granted the luxury of tasting such a sweet food before. jelly was something she heard others talking about, but nobody likes to give jelly to girls like _her_.

However, as soon as she caught sight of Killua she waltzed over to him. He glanced up at the clock.

"With five minutes to spare," he remarked mockingly.

"Yep," Hyana agreed as she straightened up. She felt a grin spreading across her face. "Just barely in time." She turned to look at Killua when he remained silent, only to see him gazing off into the woods blankly. "…Uh, hello? Killua?"

"What?" he responded, but his eyes remained on the darkness of the woods. Hyana's eyes narrowed and she followed his gaze, but the only thing she could see was darkness. She frowned. _It's like he expects something to come out of there _she thought to herself. Her frown deepened. _But what is he waiting for?_

His eyes suddenly widened and his face split into a grin. "Gon!" he exclaimed.

Hyana blinked in surprise. Gon? Her head snapped back to the woods, her eyes searching the darkness for the small black-haired boy's figure. Where?

The said boy in question emerged from the darkness of the forest moments later, his familiar fishing rod slung over his shoulder and Kurapika trailing right behind him. Gon let a grin of his own spread across his face as he caught sight of Killua and Hyana. He raced up to the two excitedly. Kurapika, on the other hand, just stood with a relieved look on his face, wiping sweat from his forehead and breathing heavily.

"Looks like we made it on time," Kurapika remarked.

Hyana smiled at the two familiar faces.  
"Gon! Kurapika!" Suddenly, realizing there was someone missing from the group, she glanced around and frowned in confusion. "….Leorio?"

Gon opened his mouth, looking like he was going to reply to that, but was cut off by the loud BRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING that resonated throughout the clearing, silencing all of the chitter-chatter and calling all of the attention to Satotsu.

Hyana turned to the man, watching him closely.

"Time's up!" he announced. "Everyone did a nice job. This -Visca Forest Park- is the Second Exam Centre."

It didn't seem like he was going to say anything more, so as the candidates quietly resumed their conversations and chattering,

Hyana turned to Gon and asked again. "Isn't Leorio with you guys?"

Gon frowned and shook his head. "No. Hisoka should have him."

"I wonder…" she sighed, flicking her eyes around to look for her insane elder brother.

But Gon was already off searching for the man, and so she turned to Kurapika, only to see he had gone as well. finally turning to Killua, she asked, "What the hell did I miss?"

"Well, after you left they never came back. So it looks like Hisoka let them all live." Killua shrugged.

"How did he manage that?"

"I don't know," he whined, frowning as though all the thinking hurt his head. "Ask him that yourself!"

"No that's not what I mean. If he let him live I think I might be underestimating Leorio," she said to Killua.

Satotsu cleared his throat again, and Hyana, along with all the other candidates, looked up at him again to find him now standing on a branch of a tree.

"Well then," he said. "We'll be getting back on track." He gazed out at everyone in the crowd with a piercing, intense look in his half-lidded dull gray eyes. "Congratulations," he finally announced. "The people who have made it here have passed the First Exam."

Hyana grinned.

"I wish you good luck on the second exam."

"I'm so glad!" Gon exclaimed immediately in relief.

Hyana jumped in surprise when she saw the black-haired boy standing beside her. "Gon?" she cried. "When did you get there?"

"Sorry, did I surprise you?" He laughed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Well, yeah, but…" Hyana trailed off, not knowing what to say. Eventually she just shrugged. "Whatever." A new thought crossed her mind and a smile broke across her face. "So," she began, grinning giddily. "We passed!"

Killua silently emerged from the crowd and stood on the other side of Gon. He smirked a bit, hands shoved in his pockets. "We're on level two now."

"We passed level one." Gon blinked and pivoted his head around.

The white-haired boy smirked and raised an amused eyebrow at him. "What kind of magic did you use?" he questioned sceptically. "I thought you would never come back."

"Oh yeah," Hyana continued, eyeing Gon curiously. "I was actually wondering that too. How did you make it to the Second Exam Centre without Satotsu leading you?"

"Oh," Gon said, as if it were nothing. "I just followed Leorio's smell."

Smell?

Hyana blinked, just waiting for the information to sink in and then she gaped.

"SMELL?" both Killua and her exclaimed in unison.

"You followed Leorio's smell?" Killua yelled, eyes bulging out of their sockets. Hyana just kept gaping.

Gon nodded. "Yeah."

"…You really are weird."

Hyana snapped her mouth shut, and shook her head to clear it from the shocked daze. "My sentiments exactly," she said, staring at Gon in a mixture of awe and astonishment.

Killua snorted. "I wouldn't be saying anything if I were you."

She glared at him. "You're pretty weird yourself, smart one." Her eyes flickered back to Gon and she lowered her voice to whisper. "But still…" She grimaced. "I don't think anyone could beat that."

"…I think he's secretly a dog," Killua muttered in reply.

She nodded seriously, but kept her eye on Gon. "I think so too."

Gon just laughed though, cocking his head to the side and smiling innocently. "You think so?"

Hyana stared at the boy, not sure whether to gawk, scream, laugh, or just cry. Instead, she just settled for sighing and shaking her head with a slight smile on her face. "You, Gon, are one of the strangest people I've ever met, and believe me, that is a serious achievement, but…"

Her face broke out into a wide, bright smile as she reached forward and patted Gon on the head. _Ha, like a real dog!_ She thought fondly.

"…It's a good kind of strange," she finished warmly, pulling her hand back and just grinning.

Gon blinked at her, before slowly reaching up to pat the spot on his head she had touched. Confusion marred his face for a moment before he brought his hand down to his face, and his confusion morphed into shock.

"Ahhhh!" he cried. "You got mud all over my head!"

Hyana snickered into her palm. "Hey, I can't be the only dirty one, now can I?" she asked, grinning mischievously. Both Killua and Hyana stared at the frowning Gon before erupting into laughter.

"Speaking of which, where did you disappear to?" Killua asked turning to her.

"Well, I got bored, went and explored, got lost, tripped and found my way back here," she said as she started rubbing her hands on Killua's sleeve. He jumped back, scowling at her.

"Hey!" he yelled.

"Yes?" She said looking up at the retreating Killua.

"Idiot, don't wipe mud on me."

"Why not? I don't want it on me."

"Stupid!"

"Jerk!"

"Weirdo!"

"Bastard!"

"Wimp!"

"Brat!"

"Ugly!"

"Idiot!"

"Girl!"

"Ugh, When in the seven hells did girl become an insult?" Hyana groaned, eyeing Killua. Killua smirked as if claiming some sort of stupid victory.

Killua groaned loudly, eyes rolling upwards. "Girls are so annoying!" he complained to the sky.

That earned him a slap to the head from Hyana.

"And violent!" He didn't seem affected by the truly weak hit thrown at his head.

"Asshole," Hyana muttered.


	3. Cooking

She couldn't believe it. Who would? It wasn't every day that one saw a gigantic, fat man with a uni-brow and a dorky look on his face, accompanied by a normal-sized young woman. But no, heaven forbid a normal-looking person appears! The woman managed to look even more strange and outlandish than the mouth less Satotsu, with her pink hair that stuck out of her head in multiple finger-shaped pigtails, and skimpy black bra with a see-through fishnet top over it. Geez, Hyana thought to herself with a huff, if Satotsu is a monkey, then this girl is a twig wearing a pink sea anemone as a hat.

This was the Hunter Exam, yes. The crack-head and wacko extraordinaire. But still. A fatso and a whore?

_Really?_

Hyana's eyebrow twitched. Greeaaaaaat.

But it turned out the Second Exam wasn't going to be as bad as she thought it was going to be. Or maybe it was. But the examiners had said it was cooking.

Then again, the rules of the exam were that the examiner had to like the candidates' food. They were first to prepare Buhara, the gigantic fatso, a meal. And, if he passed the candidate, they would go on to make food for Menchi, the pink-haired woman. The exam would only end when the examiners became full. It was a seemingly simple test that involved a lot of skills- cooking only the most obvious. Logical reasoning, observation, and analytical skills were also being put to the test here.

"Um, you're a girl you can cook right?" Leorio asked turning to Hyana. Hyana raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest letting out a deep sigh. "Hn." She let out, without turning to him.

"Answer the question!" Leorio demanded.

"I don't take orders," she stated. This only made Leorio mad and she smirked at Leorio who was now almost pulling out his hair. " No, I can't. I have never actually cooked in my life," she stated calmly. Everyone turned to her and Leorio looked at her as if that was the most unbelievable thing in the world. "Look, just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can cook," Hyana exclaimed looking up at him.

"Okay, everyone**…** my order will be...a whole roasted pig!" Buhara exclaimed, giving everyone a second to compute before continuing. "There is one species of pig in Visca forest, it's called the great stamp!" he finished. At that everyone ran in separate ways eager to get a head start. Hyana puffed out her cheeks before walking in the direction Killua had headed in. Once she reached the edge of the forest she took off in a jog until she reached a clearing.

There were two Great Stamps chasing after Killua. Hyana watched from the sidelines as Killua jumped in the air, landing a kick directly on its forehead.

Before Killua could get the other one as well, Hyana ran out and followed in Killua's movements, only landing a punch on the great stamps head. It fell down dead almost as soon as the impact was made. Hyana couldn't help but be amazed at the monstrous size of the pig. She may have used all her strength in her punch, but it wasn't very strong and she knew that well. She looked to Killua who was now watching her and let out a sigh at the size of the pig. She was actually surprisingly faster than Killua. However there was no way in the seven hells she could lift the great stamp.

She walked over and slid her arms under the large pig and tried lifting it, but to no avail. She looked to Killua for help.

"Killua, could you help me?" she asked. He nodded with a sigh and picked up her pig as well. They both roasted and cooked their pigs together before returning and giving their meals to Buhara.

"Wonderful, you both pass!" he said smiling down at the two kids. They both nodded and returned to where everyone was gathered around Menchi.

"Now that the judging for the first part of the exam is over, and seventy-one people have passed, we're going to begin the second half of the exam!" Menchi announced. She stopped pacing and turned to face the crowd. Her eyes were closed and a small smirk adorned her face. "My dish will be…"

The candidates stared at her, the air thick and tense with anticipation.

"Sushi!" she finally exclaimed, spinning around and facing the candidates with a large smirk on her face.

The candidates blinked…..and then stared at her…

Blankly.

Dumbly.

Clueless.

"Hn," Hyana said quietly.

"What?" one candidate muttered.

"Sushi?" Leorio questioned.

"Sushi?" Gon repeated.

Hyana huffed. "Can you please stop repeating her?"

Killua frowned. "…What's sushi?"

Hyana just stared at her, her eyebrows raised hairline high.

"What in the seven hells?" she muttered, causing a few to question her choice of words.

...

Hyana sighed as she stepped into the warehouse, following Kurapika, Leorio, Gon, and Killua, and setting herself up at one of the stations near the group.

The exam's basis was as simple as the one Buhara had given. They were to make sushi—specifically, pressed sushi—and, if Menchi approved it, they passed. The exam would end when Menchi became full and could no longer eat anything, but during the time before that, the examinees could make as many attempts as they wanted. The candidates were provided with a surface to cook on, a sink, rice, different types of knives, and a cutting board. The stations were set up in rows, so that one candidate would cook right next to the other.

Hyana simply examined her tools for a moment before looking around the room. She smiled at the sight of a smiling, bald, ninja and she automatically knew he had a plan.

She also had a plan. Maybe it was cheating, but there were no rules against it right? Her hand played along the hilt of the katana hanging from her belt and she thought up a plan. It was an obvious habit she had when she was thinking up a plan.

She had already been told that lying and cheating were natural parts of the hunter exam. So she really wasn't any worse than the other contestants? Everyone lies, everyone hides things, and everyone had a few dirty little secrets that they wouldn't even tell their best friend. So why was it bad for her to do it when everyone else did too?

Besides, she wasn't going to hurt anybody.

When the four boys were busy questioning what sushi was, Hyana took the chance to go question the ninja. She walked up and stood across from the ninja at his station grinning at him. He looked up and the smile that previously seemed permanently plastered on his face disappeared. He was now scowling at her. She lent in closer to him and eyed his face for any odd changes before whispering something.

"You know something and you better tell me. If you don't I might have my brother castrate you for fun." Now, most people would not see Hyana as a threat. She looked innocent. Her short shoulder length blue hair and blue hair didn't make her look very threatening. Her red sweater was unzipped and she wore a baggy black shirt underneath, with baggy jean shorts beneath that. She may not have been wearing tight clothes, but it was obvious she lacked upper body strength. Her ribs were clearly visible and her arms looked fairly bony. Mix that with her pale skin and baggy clothes she looked like she had just climbed from a trash heap and stole the first clothes she could get her hands on. Which was actually the case. If her hair was shorter, most would think _she_ was a _he_.

The only threatening thing about her was the katana strapped around her waist, which was actually the only weapon she was skilled with. Give her a bow or knives and she couldn't do much damage, but give her a sword and you were dead.

The thing that really made her scary was her brother, and it was obvious that everyone except for Illumi (who Hyana knew was in disguise) and herself, was terribly frightened of him. By default, she was also terrifying. However, Hanso, the _particularly_ cocky ninja did not see her as a threat. Honestly she wished everyone saw her like that. Just because she was his sister, it didn't mean she was him.

Hanso's eyebrow twitched at the thought he was actually about to be blackmailed by a tiny twelve year old. At the sight of his newly found cocky smile, Hyana felt the need for a few threats.

"Don't play with me, Hanso. If I want you dead you are dead. So it would be best just to tell me," she said. Hanso's face changed slightly and she knew that he had come to his senses. The only thing was, she was bluffing. She-probably-wasn't actually going to kill him.

"Really? I highly doubt that," he retorted. Hyana grinned slightly before turning around ad looking to where Hisoka was sitting outside.

She was hoping he would come to his senses. But she knew that he was suspicious, and the thing was, she was bluffing. She-probably-wasn't actually going to kill him. To just push that threat a little bit over the line, she tightened her grip on her katana and theatrically raised her head, taking a deep breath.

"Hisoka!" she yelled giving him a few seconds to start towards her "can you kill him please and thankyou." She pointed at Hanso who was now slightly shivering. Within a few second HIsoka had his cards out ready to attack.

"Fine!" he said with a rusty grunt, for once glancing nervously over his shoulder. She leaned in closer to him and surprisingly, Hanso had given her the honest rundown on how to make sushi. Before anyone had noticed she and Hanso both ran out to get some fish in the lake. They were the first ones out and by the time they came back with some fish, they both took note of the fact everyone else had gone to get fish.

She had never made food before. Well, she had to say she had once made toast, but she went through 7 loafs of bread before she could toast it properly. She smiled down at her fish, but then she realised something.

"I have no fucking idea how to cut this," she groaned as she looked around the room. Menchi and Buhara were absorbed in their own conversation and other than that the only other person in the room was Hanso and it just so happened he knew how to cut fish.  
'Wow, If I want to pass this test I'm really going to need some black mail material' she thought to herself and she was right. Black mail was one of the best ways to get what you wanted, in this case to pass the exam.

...

"Please Menchi! Look, it's made perfectly," Hyana said as she looked down at the sushi she had made. She was right, it looked perfect, but noooooo, Menchi was too stubborn to try. By this time the decision that she would not be eating anymore was made an hour ago. Menchi shook her head so Hyana picked it up with a sigh and walked back to the group. Leorio looked at her then glared at what looked like perfectly made sushi.

"How did you know how to make it? And why didn't you tell us?" He asked.

"Hn," she said simply, but that only made him angrier.

"Why don't you ever answer me?" he asked.

"Hn."

"Answer me!"

"Hn."

"Answer me!"

"Why should I? You don't believe shit I say, so why should I help you? You would never listen to me anyway. I tried to tell Gon and Killua, which I did, but you ended up getting all 'don't trust anything she says she might kill you' on them. So it's your own fault. If you really want to know, I figured it out by 'black mailing' ninja over there and and _no_, just because I used black mail, it doesn't make me untrustworthy. I work smart, not hard." She placed her hands on her hips, as if to challenge Leorio. "Besides, it was more like persuade, anyway." She added, with just a tiny twinkle in her eye. Leorio let out a stubborn 'hn' before turning away from her. "Jackass" she said under her breath. She looked down at her sushi and rubbed her stomach.

"Are you going to eat that?" Leorio asked her, eye flicking from her down to the sushi.

"Never had sushi and I'm starving so I will," Hyana said, picking up the sushi. She sniffed it and stuck out her tongue in disgust. She slowly pulled it into her mouth and chomped the whole thing, swallowing it down. She grimaced to herself and looked up at the four boys watching her.

"Is it good?" Gon asked.

"Don't ever let me cook or bake ever again. I think I'm going to be sick for the rest of my life. You know that is definately saying something because I have been fine with some pretty gross stuff," she said, (and) everyone nodded, taking note of that while Hyana just gagged on her disgusting cooking.

"Hey, do you hear that?" Gon asked as he started out the doors. Everyone looked up and Hyana tried to forget about that taste. After she built up the courage, she stood up straighter and followed everyone else out.

"Hey, that's the hunter exam logo!" someone yelled.

"Now Menchi, don't you think that exam was a little too hard?" a voice coming from the airship asked. Everyone looked at Menchi, but their attention was turned when an old man jumped from the ship landing on his feet. Everyone stared in awe as the old man pushed himself up and waltzed over to Menchi. To everyone's surprise Menchi almost looked scared of him and Menchi did not seem like the type to be scared of anything. Like, anything.

"It's—It's a pleasure to see you again, President Netero," Menchi struggled to stutter out.

Netero grunted and nodded firmly. "Now, Menchi-kun." He began. "You tried to see if these people could challenge the unknown by testing them through cooking," Netero explained evenly. "With that in mind…Everyone had a problem with their attitude. Is that why you failed everyone?"

Menchi's gaze fell to the ground.  
"No…" she mumbled quietly."One of the candidates criticized cooking, so I lost my temper." She swallowed thickly. "While I was mad, I became full and, and…" she closed her eyes in contrition."I'm not worthy of being an examiner." She bowed respectfully. "I'm sorry."

"Ohohohohoho!" Netero laughed cheerily. "You're an honest girl. For that, I'll offer you a little something else. How about this?" he asked, raising a finger in proposal. "Redo it with a different test."

Menchi nodded. "Then the new topic…Boiled egg." She turned back to old man. "President Netero, could you take us to that mountain over there?" she asked, pointing towards the large, mountain that loomed over the tree tops in the distance.

"I see," Netero said. He nodded. "That's an easy task."

"Boiled egg?" Hyana asked to herself. She sighed. "This better turn out better than the sushi thing did," she muttered in complaint.

"Don't worry!" a familiar voice chirped. "I'm good at cooking eggs!"

Hyana turned to her right to see Gon grinning cheerfully, with Kurapika, Leorio, and Killua all standing behind him. She smiled back while Killua and Kurapika had small smiles as well. She then looked to Leorio who was muttering complaints about Hyana to himself.

...

"So," Leorio said. "Let me get all this straight. All we have to do is jump off a cliff"—he jammed his thumb towards the fissure in the rock that opened up into a seemingly endless abyss of darkness—" tightrope walk across threads" –here he did a funky imitation of acrobats in a circus—"grab an egg" –he swiped at the air—"and somehow rock-climb back up to the top?"

"No," Hyana said.

Kurapika and Leorio looked at her curiously.

"You forgot the part where rabid eagles attack you and attempt to poke your eyeballs out for stealing their fugly little babies." Hyana smirked.

"Oh yes, that part," Leorio agreed sarcastically. He then raised an eyebrow. "Is that all?"

She nodded.

"Good." A large grin spread across the man's face. He turned towards the fissure and dashed towards it. "I'm going first!" he called out eagerly as he sprung off the edge of the cliff. "Whooo!"

Hyana giggled as she watched the man disappear into the darkness below. Then, turning to Kurapika, she smiled and said, "I guess I'll be going too." And before he could reply she was already off sprinting towards the cliff edge.

"Ah!" she heard Gon exclaim from behind her. "No fair, Hyana! Getting a head start without us!"

Hyana turned her head just enough to stick her tongue out at the two boys behind her. "You snooze you lose, suckers," she sneered.

A wild grin spread across her face as she neared the cliff edge. As she came closer and closer to it, she pumped her legs faster and faster. Her feet pounded against the ground and her heart raced in her chest. And then the ground disappeared from under her feet.

She was falling. Falling, falling, falling, falling—and falling fast. So fast that everything around her was a blur, so fast that she couldn't see anything, so fast that she couldn't think, she couldn't breathe—so fast that it was scary. Yes, it was scary, scary, so, so freaking scary that her heart skipped a beat and her mind was going wild. It was that scary, and yet, she was laughing.

Because even though it was scary, even though it knocked the breath out of her, even though it made her head spin and her heart skip a beat…

It was thrilling. This feeling of falling was exhilarating, and it was like that so much that she couldn't help but love it. She crossed her legs and continued to fall. She caught a few what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-her stares, but continued to fall.

After a while she grabbed onto a web, swinging around it a few times before she sat on top and grabbed an egg. She smiled throwing it up in the air and catching it a few times. When she looked up she realised she was a lot farther down then most people and it would likely take her hours to climb back up. Lacking upper body strength she pushed off the web and onto one of the walls. She pushed from side to side jumping from wall to wall. The trench was fairly narrow making it possible to do.

When she reached the top she was one of the last ones up. She smiled at her new found 'friends'.

"Oh, how wonderful, I feel like the loser," she said. She ran over with the others and plopped her egg into the boiling water.

...

"Does anyone know when to take them out?" Hyana groaned, looking around the pot.

"Well, you're the girl here you should know!" Leorio yelled at her. She raised her eyebrows hairline high at him and let out a deep sigh.

"Maybe I should know how, but I don't and I don't think I want to after the gross stuff I just made. Then again there are a lot of things girls should be able to do like singing, cleaning and using manners, but I can't." She paused and her glare turns into a smile. "Maybe I'm a hermaphrodite!"

"Why do you sound happy about that?" Leorio asked.

"Well I would not really care if I was, it wouldn't really make a difference." She shrugged looking back at her egg.

"Can we take them out now?" someone asked.

"No, just wait a moment," Kurapika said.

"Hey, he knows something. Take them out now." Everyone looked to a groaning Buhara and took out their eggs.


	4. Reassuring

The second exam had ended with just 42 candidates passing.

42. A shocking number, really, if one were to consider that the exam had started with 405 candidates. Because that meant that over 300 people had been eliminated in the course of just one day, and two exams. Wow.

Hyana was almost positive most of those people had been killed one way or another, either by Menchi's suicide jumping task, having been eaten or Hisoka's killing spree. Something told her most of that was Hisoka's killing spree.

Hyana sighed.

…Somehow, that was not very reassuring.

She now saw the need to be scary. If she was scary nobody would try and kill her, but that would contradict her previous decision on making new friends. People with friends are not scary. However, having the power to scare people and having friends meant less people would attack her.

She knew that the odds of having a lot of people like her were very low, very, very, very low, as of now she had a grand total of five people she knew would not try and kill her; Hisoka, Killua, Gon, Kuropika and even Illumi.

Once again, that did not sound very reassuring.

"Ah, there you are Hyana!" a familiar voice sounded from in front of her.

She looked up to see Gon running towards her, Killua trailing just a little bit behind him. "Oh," she said. "Hey guys."

"Hey!" Gon greeted enthusiastically as he came to arrive at her side. He then looked down at her, blinked, and frowned slightly, asking, "Why are you on the floor?"

She sighed. "I'm sitting," she replied. "What else would I be doing?" she said sarcasm dripping from her voice.

Killua, too pulled to a stop in front of her. He grinned as he got her attention. "When it's you, nobody knows what you could be doing like..."

She waved her hand back and forth dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, whatever," she sighed, closing her eyes. "Hyana's a weirdo, Killua's annoying,"- she paused and opened her eyes to shoot Gon a pointed look as he opened his mouth to say something...–"and Gon's a dog," she said only to get a sigh and some muffled laughter in response.

Gon grinned. "Well, since Menchi-san said it's free time 'till we arrive at the next place, me and Killua thought it would be fun to explore the airship!" he finished happily.

"And?" Hyana questioned when she felt his eyes on her.

"You'll come with us, right?" Gon asked, gazing at her eagerly.

Well, she wasn't all that tired, and she didn't have anything else to do, so…"Kay," she agreed.

The two boys smirked.

"Well this is boring," Hyana complained, earning a glare from Killua.

"Well you couldn't think of anything better now could you?" Killua shot back.

"I never suggested anything," she retorted. "The only cool thing here is the cockpit, let's go there," she suggested. Both boys smiled and nodded at her as the three ran off down the hall. Hyana ran up beside Killua and stuck her tongue out at him "How's that for good?" she asked earning an annoyed glare in return.

The three stopped in front of a door. Gon let out a sigh while Hyana stared blankly at the sign.

"What does that sign say?" she asked them, both boys stared at her there eyebrows raised hairline high.

"Why can't you read it?" Gon asked.

"I can't read," she said simply as if it was totally normal. "I don't need to know how. I know the alphabet and I know what the numbers look like, but I was never taught how to actually read." she stared at the two.

It was true, too. It was actually fairly odd for so,some as young as her to know how to read considering her living circumstances. You could easily find books in the piles of trash all over Meteor City. However many would be extremely hard to read considering how beat up they all were.

A few silent seconds passed before Killua burst out laughing. Hyana scowled at him and when he didn't stop laughing, she whacked him over the head. Killua stopped laughing and straightened up looking at her.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"It's not funny and it's not my fault I don't know how to read," she explained.

"Well if you ask me it is, no normal twelve year old doesn't know how to read. What do you live in a dump or something?" he asked stifling a laugh.

Uhhh, yeah. She answered inside her head.

"Well I'm sorry. Now please tell me what the sign says."

"It says 'No entry without permission' that means we can't go in," Gon said letting out a sign.

"Don't be like that Gon," Hyana said "Loop holes, loop holes, why do these people make it so easy to find them," she said in a sing song voice.

"Get to the point," Killua snapped, un-amused by Hyana's cheer.

"Well since Gon seems very bad with rule bending I will tell him this it says permission, but nowhere does it say from whom. So, Gon, I give you my permission to go in," she said turning to Gon.

"But that's against the rules."

"There aren't any rules anyway it just says 'permission' so go on it's not against the rules," she explained turning to Killua for help.

"Besides Gon it's not actually a rule it's a guideline," he stated Gon looked back to Hyana who nodded at him and opened the door. Killua and Hyana walked in Gon reluctantly following behind.

"Hey this is super cool!" Hyana yelled as she looked around at all the buttons.

"Oh you're finally here, please go fetch me some coffee," a man's voice said. All three kids looked to the chair.

"Tell ya what, if we go get you some coffee, you'll let us steer this airship for ten minutes," Killua negotiated. The chair spun around and without any time to think the three kids were pushed out of the room and into the wall.

"Hey, you kids aren't allowed in here." the captain yelled slamming the door shut. Hyana groaned as she rubbed her back pushing away from the wall. Killua did the same and both kids looked to Gon who was sulking in the corner.

"Hey are you okay Gon?" Killua asked.

"I don't like getting in trouble." Hyana stifled a laugh and went to help Gon up.

"I have gotten in trouble for worse don't worry," she said giving Gon a reassuring smile. He seemed to slightly brighten.

Hyana collapsed on the bench with a loud groan. "This is getting so boring," she complained. "And I'm so tired!"

"Wow!" Gon exclaimed. He was on the bench on his knees, with his hands pressed against the glass of the window. "This is awesome. It looks like jewellery that's spread out all over the place."

Hyana blinked and looked out the window. The city lights below them were white polka-dots in the dark of night. She rested her head on her arms and gazed tiredly out the window, stifling a yawn "it's pretty," she mumbled.

"Wait." Killua sat on the bench next to her, putting his elbow on the window sill and resting his chin in his hand. "You guys have never seen a night view before?" He was so close to her, his soft white hair tickling her cheeks.

"This is my first time," Hyana admitted. She felt Killua's eyes burning holes in her head, but didn't look away from the window. "Where I live," she began, "the skies too polluted to see the stars. What about you?"

"My family owns a plane." Killua stared out the window with half-lidded, bored eyes. "We need a plane. Our house is on a huge mountain. So I've seen it a million times."

"What?" Hyana and Gon exclaimed in unison.

Killua was unbothered. "We also have about 200 workers."

Hyana gaped. _A plane? A mountain? 200 workers? What the hell? Who the hell is rich enough to waste money on crap like that? _She closed her mouth to shoot Killua a dry look. _Well, his family is, apparently. _She groaned. "Not….fair. I hate you so much right now."

"Eh…So your family is rich, Killua," Gon remarked, slightly awed. "What do your parents do?"

Hyana leaned forward, intrigued. "Yeah, what do they do? I mean, they've gotta be doing something impressive to be that rich. Since they obviously don't crap money out of their ass, I mean."

Killua shrugged, before answering casually, "Assassins."

"Both of them?" Gon asked while Hyana's eyes widened slightly.

Hyana turned to Gon and rolled her eyes. "Of course it's both of them. He said assassins, sssss, like, plural. Two of them. Dos! Mom and Dad."

Killua's laughter interrupted her.

Hyana raised an eyebrow. "Okay, what the hell? Why is that so funny?" She jabbed her thumb at Gon.

"Pfft," Killua snorted. "Was not. Most people when they hear me say 'Assassin', they either tell me I'm joking, faint, or run away screaming." he paused for a moment taking in their reactions "Well, it doesn't matter anyway. I was kidding." Killua grinned mischievously. "My parents? Assassins? No way! That's such a joke." He burst into laughter. "I can't believe you guys actually fell for that!"

Hyana's eyes narrowed."Liar," she accused.

Killua froze. He very much right then wanted to say "Well I would have no problem believing that." But he held back and stared at her.

"You were telling the truth, right?" Gon agreed, frowning.

Killua's eyes went wide. "…How'd you know?" he finally asked, surprised.

Gon shrugged. "…I just sort of know."

"No, you just suck at lying," Hyana droned bluntly. "Besides, if that was a joke, it would've been one hell of a stupid one."

"We-ird," Killua drawled. He sighed, pouting slightly. "Most people find me charming because you don't know when I'm serious or not."

Hyana thought about making a snide comment, but she stayed quiet. Killua was actually serious, and she didn't want to ruin that. He may have been pouting and cracking jokes right and left, but at that moment, he was dead serious.

"…All of my family members are assassins," Killua finally began. "We kill anyone if we get money. And my whole family expects me to turn out be an incredible assassin. Since…forever, I've been learning how to kill. Ugh…it's so annoying. Killing is…whatever. I don't even care." He shrugged. "I just don't want to live a life where someone else is always telling me what to do."

Killua made a face of both scepticism and annoyance, jabbing his index finger at himself. "And when I said, 'I'm going to pick my own future' my family got pissed!" he complained loudly, frowning. "My mom even lectured me, while crying, about how much potential I have as an assassin! Don't you think they're terrible parents? Normally, someone in my place would become a delinquent child."

"Wait, then what happened?" Hyana asked, blinking. "You left?"

"Yeah. It became a fight in the end," Killua answered. "So I beat up my mom and brother and left the house."

Hyana choked. "Are you for real? You beat up your mom who's a trained assassin? What the hell? What if she killed you?"

"She wouldn't," Killua dismissed it. "You're more likely to kill me than her. You know, they're probably looking for me right now." He grinned foxily. "But if they do come, I'll just beat them up again."

"I would hate to have you as my child," Hyana remarked.

"I would hate to have you as my mom," he said back. Then his face lit up. "You know, if I do become a Hunter, I'm going to capture all of my family members!" A dreamy look passed over his face. "I think I'll be able to sell them for a good price…" he trailed off, absorbed in his own money-rich fantasies.

"I want half your earnings for helping you think up the idea," Hyana added, dead serious.

Killua groaned. "No way. I'm using all the money to buy chocolate." He grinned evilly. "I can't wait. All that chocolate…"

Hyana sighed. She retreated for a moment, staring out the window to think. Her mind was in turmoil, everything jumbled up and thrown all over the place.

_Killua's an assassin? She_frowned slightly. It wasn't that fact that he killed people that made her mind blow up. It was that she was suddenly having a hard time picking through the information in her head. She ran through all her conversations with Killua, sorting them into files of half-truths, truths, and truth-disguised-as-jokes—because Killua had a lot of those truth-disguised-as-jokes.

She didn't understand why he felt the need to make everything serious into a joke. Was it because he feared the truth about him would drive them away? Did he fear they would reject him when he admitted his family's profession? Maybe he thought making a joke out of it would make it hurt less if they left. Humor was probably just his way of coping.

"Hyana?" Gon's voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts.

Hyana jumped, startled. "Huh?" she stuttered, her gaze snapping up the two boys in front of her who were staring at her strangely.

"Are you okay?" Gon asked, clueless. His brow furrowed slightly. "I've been calling your name for a while now."

"Oh, um… whoops. My bad." She shrugged. "I was kind of spaced-out."

Gon nodded, before he opened his mouth and asked, "…Can I ask you something? Why do you want to be a Hunter?"

Her eyes widened slightly. Oh, that was right. Gon had already told them he wanted to be a Hunter to find his dad, and Killua had just shared his reason, so…that meant she was the only one left. But…did she want to tell them? It would only be fair if she did…But…

She averted her eyes to the ground. Her stomach clenched with unease. I don't want to…Could she tell them she needed the money? That she was a poor freak who had no parents, no home, and no money? That she was nothing more than a common street rat? What if they looked at her differently? Like she was dirty, unworthy—scum? Or even worse, what if they wouldn't look at her at all?

A wave of uncertainty swept through her.

Would they leave her?

No, they would not and she knew that all too well and also, there was a simple way to get out of this situation. She would do as she always did in these types of situations; lie.

"I came when my brother invited me. I don't know why he wanted to come here though," she lied telling half the truth. Killua's face scanned hers as if he didn't quite believe her. Now Hyana wasn't the only good liar here. She kept her eyes on his, challenging him. He continued to scan her face, while her eyes followed his gaze.

"She's not lying," he clarified. Hyana inwardly cheered, but kept silent.

"How about we get something to eat?" Gon cheered catching the two kid's attention. Killua nodded a yes.

Hyana ran into the large room and everyone's heads turned to her. She ran straight to Hisoka and Illumi. She sat down beside them and the rest of the room shuffled further away from the three. Hyana watched in silence as her brother built his card castle and every now and then glanced up at her with a smirk plastered on his face.

The castle fell again and he started again. The room was absolutely silent and Hyana was beginning to get annoyed by waiting. She tapped her food and bit her lip viciously as her brother took silent glances  
at her.


End file.
